Hocevar earns first NASCAR Cup Series win in wild Talladega race

NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar (77) wears the ceremonial wreath presented by Miss Alabama Emma Terry after his victory at the Jack Links 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Carson Hocevar earns first NASCAR Cup Series win in wild Talladega race

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Apr 26, 2026 7:19 PM ET

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For the 13th time, a first-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series was crowned at Talladega Superspeedway.

With a push from Alex Bowman on the final lap, Carson Hocevar had enough to take the checkered flag and earn his first career Cup Series victory in Sunday's Jack Link's 500.

The 23-year-old's first victory came in his 91st Cup Series start.

"I've had this thought up for a while," an emotional Hocevar told Fox Sports of his exuberant celebration. "This is the biggest dream I've ever thought of. Hopefully my grandpa's watching. My grandma died last year, so I'm so thankful I can give my grandpa a trophy now."

CARSON HOCEVAR WINS AT TALLADEGA! pic.twitter.com/5B6WQFi87T
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 26, 2026

Chris Buescher finished runner-up, with Bowman, Chase Elliott and Zane Smith rounding out the top five. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson and Kyle Busch completed the top 10.

Shane van Gisbergen, Ryan Preece and Austin Dillon were involved in a crash at the finish line.

Notable results

Other notable finishers include polesitter and points leader Tyler Reddick in 14th, Denny Hamlin in 15th, Christopher Bell in 17th, Erik Jones in 23rd and Chase Briscoe in 29th.

Sunday's race was defined by a massive crash on Lap 115 involving 26 cars in total. Only 20 remained on the lead lap following the incident, which took out Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Cole Custer and William Byron.

Preece won Stage 1, with Chastain winning Stage 2.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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